Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 3 (10 inn.): Sox snap losing streak

Monday

Aug 25, 2014 at 10:37 PMAug 25, 2014 at 10:39 PM

Nothing comes easy for the Red Sox this season. They seemed poised for one of their easiest wins of the season Monday night, only to lose a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning before winning 4-3 in the 10th to break an eight-game losing streak.

Staff Report

Nothing comes easy for the Red Sox this season.

They seemed poised for one of their easiest wins of the season Monday night, only to lose a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning before winning 4-3 in the 10th to break an eight-game losing streak.

Clay Buchholz pitched eight shutout innings — cruising through them without allowing a runner to reach scoring position — before giving up two hits and a walk to load the bases in the ninth. Koji Uehara, once automatic but suddenly extremely hittable, allowed all three inherited runners to score.

The Red Sox, however, scored in the top of the 10th and Craig Breslow worked a laborious but scoreless bottom of the inning for his first save.

With Aaron Sanchez (2-1) on in relief for Toronto, Brock Holt reached on an infield single with one out. Holt stole second as Dustin Pedroia struck out, then stole third with Yoenis Cespedes at the plate. When Cespedes singled to center field, Holt scored what proved to be the winning run.

The Blue Jays finally got to Buchholz in the ninth after being dominated for eight innings.

With the Red Sox leading 3-0, Buchholz allowed consecutive one-out singles to Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera, then walked Jose Bautista to load the bases and bring the potential winning run to the plate. Manager John Farrell then removed Buchholz, bringing in Uehara (6-4) to try and lock down the save.

But Adam Lind grounded into a fielder’s choice to drive in Reyes with the first Toronto run, and Edwin Encarnacion followed with a double off the left-field wall to drive in Cabrera and Lind and even the score at 3-3.

The Red Sox had gone up 3-0 in the fifth when rookie Mookie Betts hit a solo home run to left field — the second of his career — and Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run blast to left.

Those three runs looked to be more than enough for Buchholz until the ninth.

For eight innings, he was the pitcher the Red Sox have been waiting all season to see, save for one afternoon in Houston when he pitched with the same brilliance he showed most of Monday night and all of last year when he was 12-1 with a 1.74 earned run average.

If there’s someone who can figure Buchholz out, the Red Sox would probably like to know.

They sure can’t.

Monday’s performance came just five nights after he gave up six runs in six innings in a loss to the Angels to continue the worst season of his career.

Buchholz was in command right from the start against the Blue Jays.

He set down the first seven batters he faced before Danny Valencia singled to center field with one out in the third inning. But Buchholz easily got out of the inning by getting groundouts from Munenori Kawasaki and Reyes.

After a perfect fourth Buchholz walked Encarnacion leading off the fifth, but thanks to a flyout, strikeout and groundout Encarnacion never advanced.

Buchholz was again perfect in the sixth before giving up a one-out hit to Lind in the seventh, but Encarnacion then hit into a double play.

He breezed through the eighth, but after getting the first out of the ninth lost whatever he’d found the previous eight innings.

And considering how bad he’d been much of the season, even though he gave up the lead in the ninth Monday was a step in the right direction.

Buchholz was so bad that he ended May with a 7.02 earned run average.

There was promise in late June and July with mediocre starts before a complete-game shutout against the Astros in the last game before the All-Star break. But then he gave up four or more earned runs in four straight starts and five of his next seven, culminating in the loss to the Angels last week.

There was no indication that anything close to what he did for 8 1/3 innings Monday night against the Blue Jays was coming.

He didn’t get the win, but even allowing three runs he got the Red Sox to extra innings. And there, they were able to put an end to their lengthy losing streak.

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